News

J. Leslie Riseden, of Avinger, has joined The Steel Country Bee as a contributing writer and columnist. A native of New Orleans, Ms. Riseden has been a transplanted Texan for 40 years. After 16 years in the convention travel business, and 20 years in customer service management, she bid farewell to San Antonio and retired to Northeast Texas to be closer to family. "I look forward to getting to know our readers as I work my way around the community to report on various meetings, celebrations and events," said Ms. Riseden. "I hope everyone will keep me posted when there is news they'd like to share." Publisher Debbie Knox said Ms. Riseden will be invaluable to The Bee. "Leslie is very personable and has great people insight and loads of experience in public relations. The staff members and I are very excited to work with her and know she will be a great asset to the communities we serve," said Mrs. Knox.

Fifth grade students at South Elementary in Daingerfield recently competed in a grade-level Science Fair. When it was all said and done, four students were chosen to represent Daingerfield at the Region 8 Science Fair on Feb. 9. According to fifth grade science teacher Jennifer Nix, students were given a packet with information about the requirements for the projects on Jan. 4. The students were also given a list of possible experiment ideas, as well as a list of websites which they could visit in order to help choose a project. According to Nix, all 64 fifth graders turned in a project of some sort by the Jan. 22 deadline. “All of the students did a wonderful job,” said Nix. Among the 64, there were projects of all types, each chosen by the students themselves. There were experiments testing which popcorn brand was the best, and which diaper type was the most absorbent.

With the Texas primary only a month away, Morris County voters will have the opportunity to hear from the candidates themselves as the Morris County Political Forum will be held on Feb. 11. The forum will give Morris County candidates an opportunity to share their platform, as well as giving the community an opportunity to ask questions. The Daingerfield Chamber of Commerce and the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Daingerfield will host the event, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Morris County Courthouse Annex in Daingerfield. The event will begin with introductions, after which each candidate will be given one to two minutes to share their platform speech with those in attendance. Following the candidate speeches, there will be an intermission, where refreshments will be served. Audience questions will be collected at this time and reviewed by the screening committee. A Question and Answer Session will following the intermission.

Hughes Springs students recently competed in the in the Texas Computer Education Association. Robotics competition at Region 8, Three HSISD teams have advanced to the state competition, which will be held April 30. Students could compete in one of two areas: Invention and Arena. The junior high team of Caden Edwards, Jayden Bruce, and Logan Amox placed first in the Intermediate Arena Competition. The high school team of Jade Hill, Alberto Arellano, and Kaitlyn Roth also placed first in the Advanced Arena Competition. The team of Drake Hill, John Willis, Savannah Wright, and Cypress Wright placed second in the Invention category. The team’s entry was a “Creating a Garbage Man Robot.” Breanna Casillas also has the possibility of going to state, but will not know until a later date if her “Creating a Field Painting

Bobbie Jo Black recently attended a concert by Stoney Larue at the Music City Texas Theatre. Black received her tickets by being the first to correctly identify Larue’s hometown on The Steel Country Bee’s Facebook contest, held the week of the concert. Black knew that Taft, Texas was Larue’s hometown. Be sure to watch The Steel Country Bee’s Facebook page for your next chance to win.

The Titus County AgLife Extension office will be hosting two classes for food service employees. The first will be Food Handler’s course to be held on Feb. 16. The second will be a Food Manager certification course. The “Texas Food Establishment Rules (TFER)” revision now requires all food employees to complete an accredited food handlers training program within 60 days of employment. A food handler’s course accredited by the Texas Department of State Health Services is being offered by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Titus County on February 16, at the Extension office at 1708 Industrial Rd. Mt. Pleasant Texas. Classes are scheduled monthly; however, if the time or date is not convenient for your business, we can make a class with five individuals. This 2-hour course will now be required for all food service employees to help promote the service of safe food. The certificate is good for 2 years and is valid anywhere in the State of Texas.

The Hughes Springs Junior High Math and Science Team traveled to Atlanta on Jan. 23 for the Atlanta Math Meet. The team placed 3rd overall. The individual results are as follows. In the Science competition, seventh grader Clay Holiday placed sixth while Skyler Strickland placed ninth. In the eighth grade competition, Ty Wallace placed fourth, while Kim Vaughn placed tenth. In the Calculator completion, sixth grader Briley Stewart placed third. Seventh graders Tanner Byrd, Dalton Brock, and Skyler Strickland placed fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Eight grader Jaycee Alexander placed ninth in the Calculator competition. Briley Stewart placed fifth in sixth grade general Math. In the seventh grade General Math competition, Tanner Byrd placed first, Skyler Strickland placed third, Dalton Brock placed fifth, and Clay Holiday placed eighth. Ty Waller and Kimberly Vaughn placed seventh and eighth in the eighth grade General Math competition.

Underage drinking is
seen in many areas as a
“rite of passage.” Parents
sometimes feel that minors
will drink anyway, so it
would be safer for their
child to drink in their presence.
Social hosting is illegal
and can have serious
consequences that can be
lifelong. In Texas, parents
who allow minors to partake
of alcohol, even at
home, can be held liable if
the child is injured or killed
due to alcohol use.
Underage drinking is
especially prevalent during
Spring Break, as well as
around Prom and
Graduation. Many parents
opt to host events at their
homes or properties where
minors are able to drink
alcohol in what many
adults deem a “safer” environment.
Taking their
keys, offering a place to
“sleep it off,” and limiting
their consumption are
steps parents take in an
attempt to justify giving

The Daingerfield-Lone Star Educational Foundation hosted their annual fundraiser on Jan. 29. The 2016 Champion Spelling Bee was hosted at the Daingerfield High School to raise funds that allow the Educational Foundation to finance teacher grants each year. The evening started with a bar-b-que brisket dinner that included cole slaw, potato beans, potato salad, and a roll, with peach cobbler for dessert. The Spelling Bee then got underway, with Heather Sanders reprising her role from previous years as caller. There were nine teams participating in this year’s Bee, and they included a team from each school, as well as several from the community. There were the Alhp-Bee-Tigers from Texas Heritage National Bank, the West Word Girders, The Ganadores from Daingerfield High School, South Elementary’s PunKtuators, and the Daingerfield’s BP & W’s Team Jo.

By Lauren Barnes with the Northeast Texas Coalition Against Substance Abuse The days of D.A.R.E. and “just say no” are behind us, and experts say teens need scientific facts about drugs and alcohol to be better prepared to make the right decisions. However, teens are receiving incorrect messages about drugs and alcohol from their friends, television and social media. The Northeast Texas Coalition Against Substance Abuse is working to ensure youth in Daingerfield receive the correct facts, but we can’t do it alone. We need parents to talk to their teens about common drug and alcohol myths and empower them with the facts so they can make healthy decisions. Myth: Drinking is a rite of passage and everyone is doing it. Only one in five East Texas 7th-12th graders are current users of alcohol, according to the 2014 Texas School Survey.